


Black Lungs

by FoxBreath



Category: IT (2017)
Genre: College AU, Drinking, M/M, Smoking, i have no idea what im doing, i hope you enjoy it though??, partying maybe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-15
Updated: 2017-10-15
Packaged: 2019-01-17 23:38:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12376497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FoxBreath/pseuds/FoxBreath
Summary: a reddie fic in which two boys with no memory of each other, cross paths again after leaving derry behind and feel a strange inexplicable connection towards each other





	Black Lungs

"Ugh, you've got to be kidding me," the lanky male groaned, throwing his head back and hitting it lightly on the brick wall behind him. He had no cigarettes left in the pack and was desperately in need of a smoke. "I just bought this." He mumbled harshly to himself, dropping the empty pack to the ground and lolling his head to the side. Slowly he opened his eyes noticing a figure at the other end of the faintly lit alleyway, the only source of light coming from the street. "Hey," he called out, "can I bum a cig?"

The silhouette began to come closer, the light emanated from the street and revealing their face. It was another boy, he was shorter, with light brown hair. He walked until he was across from the taller male.

"You really shouldn't be doing that, you know?" He said tilting his head to the side. "You're slowly killing yourself." He spoke, straightening himself back out.

"Well maybe that's what I want." He let out a sigh, and tipped his head down towards the grime covered cement.

"Why would anyone want that for themselves?"

"You wouldn't understand, trust me."

The corners of his mouth ticked down, "And why exactly wouldn't I understand?" He spoke with an accusing tone. "Just because I don't smoke cigarettes in alleyways in the dark by myself doesn't mean I'm stupid!" The taller boy rolled his eyes and leaned back casually onto the wall, his dark hair falling carelessly into his face. 

"See, the difference between people who smoke and people who don't," he pulled a lighter out of his pocket and began twirling it between his lithe fingers, "is that people who smoke, don’t care if others don't." He narrowed his eyes and blew the stray hairs out of his face. At the brief silence that followed his statement, he continued. "You're all the same, ya know that? Well guess what?" He grinned, holding his arms out triumphantly. "You don't know me. So unless ya have a stick on you, then this conversation is over." He picked up his bag and slung it carelessly over his shoulder. It was messily adorned with all sorts of patches and pins, most of them sporting band logos which the shorter boy had never seen before. 

"Wait," he said after noticing the other male preparing to depart. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have spoken to you like that. I'm Eddie, by the way. I was just walking back to my dorm." He paused a moment to gesture to a building in the distance, swarming with hundreds of college students. "And you are?"

The tall male scoffed and turned around, quickly approaching the shorter boy that he now knew to be “Eddie”. He kept walking towards him, slowly backing him into the wall behind them. As Eddie’s heels hit the brick, he averted his gaze from the pale face of the stranger that stood before him.

“Listen here, Eds.”

“Eddie.” The short boy corrected weakly.

“Alright, listen here, Eddie” he spat, annoyance dripping from his voice, “I don’t care to know your name or where you’re going.” He narrowed his brown eyes and slammed his palms onto the rigid surface on either side of the boy’s head, startling him and causing him to cower in fear, “and there seems to be no point in wasting my breath on meaningless small talk because I can guarantee that I won’t be seeing your face again.” But he knew that statement to be a lie. He recognized the smaller boy’s features but was unable to place where he had seen them before. After all, he didn’t really look like the type of person he would hang around with. After a brief moment, he removed his hands from the wall and used his slender fingers to flip up the hood of his jacket. He then shoved his hands into his coat pockets and pivoted on his heels. He began to briskly walk out of the alleyway, and Eddie felt a strange compulsion to follow him. There was something curious, and also a little frightening, about this person, and he hadn’t even gotten the their name.

But then it occurred to him that it might be for the best that he never learn it. The name would be stuck in his mind along with the image of his dark eyes staring menacingly back into his own hazel ones. Besides, they didn't seem like they would be a good influence on him. He never really understood smoking. Hadn’t the boy seen what happens to your body when you get addicted to nicotine? The thought of the nasty habit had typically repulsed him, but this time the smell of smoke seemed to linger in the air after the boy had left and a small part of him was allured to it. Eventually, he gave in, and decided that he would try to encounter the boy again. If he was lucky, he could catch up to him. And so, he tightly clutched the straps of his bookbag and hustled after the curly-haired boy.

Eddie managed to catch a glimpse of the boy turning a corner, opposite the direction of the campus. Keeping some distance between them, he followed silently behind. For a moment he hesitated. Due to the fact that the boy’s hood was up, he was unsure if he was still following the same stranger. When the boy crossed the street, he glanced to the side, checking for any oncoming cars. Eddie spotted a stray piece of that brown hair flick past, which gave him the reassurance he needed to continue.  
They had been walking for about 5 blocks before Eddie noticed the boy slowing down at a nearby gas station with one of the three working lights flickering sporadically. Upon looking around, Eddie noticed that this wasn’t exactly the cleanest or most amiable part of town and the appearance of the storefront itself didn’t ease any of his apprehension. But by the time he looked back for the hooded figure, he’d already gone inside the fluorescent lit store. Not wanting to be out in an unfamiliar part of town by himself at night, he swiftly ducked into the small building.

Inside, it was nothing beyond a generic gas station that smelled of smoke and Clorox. There was only one worker, from what he could tell and they stood behind the counter, on the other side of the register stood the same, hooded figure he’d been following. The boy didn’t seem to notice him, even after the small bell announced his arrival as he came in through the entrance.

Eddie saw him pull out a few crinkled bills from his pocket, but before the cashier could even print out the receipt, he heard the boy mutter, “keep the change.” He was clearly anxious to get out and smoke the pack he’d just purchased. Eddie thought he saw something else gripped in the boy’s hand. Before he had the time to ponder what it could be, the lanky boy was already pushing his way through the glass doors. In a moment of panic, Eddie sprinted towards the doors after him, but the end of his sneaker caught on the threshold and he plummeted face-first into the ground. He softly groaned in pain before realizing he’d landed right at the feet of the same pale-faced stranger that had been glowering at him before. “Oh God,” he said as a pit deep in his stomach began to form.

“Were you following me?!” The mystery boy snapped, he was clearly startled and confused by the boy at his feet. The brunette reluctantly lifted his head up to meet the gaze of the same brown eyes that he couldn’t seem to shake from his mind. He hoisted himself off his stomach and onto his forearms.

“Well?” The male prompted when there wasn’t a response to his previous inquiry. He was clearly growing impatient, crossing his arms over his thin frame.

“Um, well yes, but,” Eddie was trying to come up with a good excuse as to why he was following the boy, but was struggling to think up with something convincing. “You never told me your name, and well, I was just curious as to where you were headed.” He spoke up sheepishly.

“Well you should learn to mind your own business,” the boy cocked his head to side and raised an eyebrow. He was visibly annoyed at this point, but he started to feel bad for Eddie, who was still on ground. The hooded male decided to do something that neither of them had quite expected. He uncrossed his arms and bent down to help him get up off of the dirty pavement.

“Oh, um, thank you,” he wasn’t sure how to react to this sudden kindness since the boy had been nothing but rude to him since their initial encounter. The boy shoved his hands into his pockets and then quickly nodded his head to the side before spinning around, silently signaling for Eddie to follow him. He decided that he had already followed him thus far, and wasn’t quite sure how to get back to the campus. His best choice would be to continue trailing behind the boy which he still had yet to learn the name of.

The more they walked, the more sparse buildings became, and eventually they reached a small knoll with a large tree planted at the top. The mystery boy leaned his back into the tree and pulled out his new pack of cigarettes and a lighter. He removed a single stick with his teeth and lit it. Visibly he relaxed, taking a long drag.

“Why are you doing that to yourself?” Eddie whispered.

“Like I said before, you really wouldn’t understand,” he took another long, slow drag before exhaling the smoke. The smoke danced creating beautiful, swirling patterns in the frigid night air.

“I can try.”

**Author's Note:**

> i have no clue how many chapters of this i'll end up writing? i guess it just depends on how much people enjoy it??


End file.
